Maple Leafs’ defence a work in progress
COLORADO 2 TORONTO 1 Conspiracy of factors keep blue line from jelling
TOrONTO • The speed of the game has been the biggest adjustment.
As Paul Ranger said, a lot can happen in a split-second. The other day, for example, the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman had the puck on the blue line and was deciding whether to take a shot or make a pass. And in that brief moment of indecision, an opposing player stripped him of the puck and skated the length of the ice for a breakaway.
“To me, it seemed like I had a little bit more time to put on net,” Ranger said prior to Tuesday night’s 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. “But I got the puck and looked up and he was right there.”
Ranger, who returned to the NHL after a four-year absence this season, prepared himself for this transition. He realized his game would not be perfect right away and that essentially he would be learning on the job.
In that way, Ranger is lot like the rest of Toronto’s defence: a work in progress. And aside from the top pairing of Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarsson, it is not hard to see why:
Mark Fraser, the team’s only true stay-at-home defenceman, is out with a lower-body injury.
Cody Franson, who was a minus-3 against the Senators on Saturday, missed the first two weeks of training camp because of a contract negotiation.
Jake Gardiner, who spent most of last season in the minors, is still learning how to harness his high-wire offensive game.
Morgan Rielly, who made his NHL debut on the weekend, is just 19 years old.
Add it up and it is not difficult to see why the Leafs defence has been the team’s weak spot so far.
In the first three games, Toronto averaged 11 turnovers and 35 shots against and seemed to win despite the play of its blueliners. If not for timely scoring from a deplet- ed forward corps and capable play from their two goaltenders, the Leafs might have a losing record.
“We’re giving up way too many chances and our goalies have had to bail us out too many times to make it comfortable,” Franson said. “There’s a lot of work to do.”
That was certainly true after Tuesday’s loss. Toronto did not play terrible hockey. But it was far from perfect. Through two periods, the Leafs committed 10 turnovers and were outshot 25-19. There were also the usual momentary lapses of judgment, such as allowing Gabriel Landeskog to be alone in the slot, forcing goalie Jonathan Bernier to come up with another spectacular glove save.
It was not all the defence’s fault. After all, defence is a team concept. And with centre Jay McClement out of the lineup to be with his wife for their birth of their first child, Toronto was reduced to just two complete forward lines and a mixed bag of minor-leaguers and spare parts.
After a scoreless first period, in which Toronto and Colorado traded scoring opportunities, the Leafs took a 1-0 lead when Joffrey Lupul shovelled in a puck that seemed to be underneath Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov. But the Avalanche tied it about three minutes later when Cory Sarich beat Bernier with a high shot.
In the third period, the turnovers and defensive gaffes finally caught up to the Leafs. Ranger and Gardiner found themselves defending a three-on-two. And though Ranger made a nice diving play to break it up, the pair got caught for another odd-man rush and gave up a two-on-one goal on the same shift.
This time, the Leafs offence was unable to make up for the error.
“Our goal is to limit [the chances] and play defensively as a group,” Ranger had said before the game. “A big part of it is — and we’ve been talking about it — is to be more responsible defensively. That can be as simple as limiting turnovers and keeping the puck deep in their zone and working the cycle versus playing a transition game and trading back and forth.”
That might be the goal. But so far this season, old habits have been hard to break.